[Letters] China's lagging human rights

June 29, 2009

Joong Ang Daily, June 28, 2009

Earlier this month, the Chinese government ordered a directive mandating
that all personal computers sold inside China include software that can
filter out "unhealthy information" from the Internet. This software will
allow Beijing to regularly update computers with a list of banned Web sites.
The explicit goal, according to the government, is to block out vulgar
information, especially pornography, from its citizens.

However, as many free speech advocates believe, the implicit purpose is to
restrict further access to Web sites which can cause social disorder in
Chinese society, such as social networking sites, search engines and
information regarding Tibet, the Tiananmen Square crackdown and other
pro-democracy content. These attempts by Beijing to filter out information
on the Web are definitely in violation of human rights. Nevertheless, we are
no longer surprised by these actions.

China has without doubt succeeded in gaining economic power in the last few
decades with help from its import of market-based economic policies. Despite
becoming a world power in the global economy, however, China still remains
underdeveloped, in terms of social conditions, especially human rights.

The Chinese government is infamous for censoring and distorting information
on the Internet as well as other media, severely violating human rights.
According to the Human Rights Report, an annual publication by the U.S.
Department of State, the Chinese government "tightened restrictions on
freedom of speech and the press, particularly in anticipation of and during
sensitive events, including increased efforts to control and censor the
Internet."

Recently in his visit to Japan, the Dalai Lama criticized Beijing for
"acting like a child," and urged the nation to pursue trust and
transparency.

If China truly wishes to become a developed nation, it must learn to treat
its people like human beings.